Heroes of the Olympian Flame
by Jason Strong
Summary: The gods fell to the blade of the titans, and Thalia to the blade of her brother, Troy, allowing Kronos control of the world. But revolution is blooming Hunters, traitors and demigods unite to see to the fall of the Titan Lord. Sequel to Thalia the Hunter
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Welcome to the sequel of Thalia the Hunter. The last part of Thalia was really choppy, but hopefully, thanks to the help of my new Beta Reader, storm-brain, we'll see to it that it doesn't happen again. **

**This story will be told in third-person, as there will be many different things going on, I figure it's the only way to keep a good, healthy story. Also, my line breaks are two hyphens with a number. Every new chapter I'll start at one, but when the number goes up, it means I'm switching scenes. For example, I may do --1-- more than once, but when I do --2-- I'll be switching to another it doesn't make sense now, it will later. **

Troy looked upon the dead body of his half-sister, Thalia. Her hair was rough and matted, skull split where he had slashed his sword through it. She had taken care of him for about a week, saved him from a few monsters, but he still hated her. Now, she lay there, dead on the concrete.

Though most decent people would feel terrible, guilty and ashamed, Troy felt nothing, and still as her blood rushed from her slain body and gushed onto the concrete, a small smile formed at his lips. Not a happy smile, but a content, satisfied smile.

Something caught his eye. A small, yellow key-chain hung from Thalia's belt loop. He bent down, ignoring the shocked, horrified, and disgusted Olympian goodie-goodies beside the slain half-blood.

He flung his sword to the side, it clanged against the concrete. He wouldn't need it any longer, for he recognized the key-chain as his sister's gift from their father, Zeus, a sword made of pure Olympian gold, created by Hephaestus himself.

He unhooked the key-chain and the sword instantly grew to its normal size. A beautiful sword, forged in the shape of a lightning bolt, solid gold appeared in his hand. It was perfectly balanced in his blistered palm.

Troy turned to face his audience – the titan army – raised his new sword in the air, and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"FOR THE TITANS!"

A roar came from the crowd as they rejoiced this world-changing day. Troy watched as they screamed, cheered and hollered._ That's_ when the smile that represented his happiness crept across his face. After the crowed had finally settled, he leveled his sword up to his grandfather, Kronos, and began to speak.

"And you, the Titan Lord, as of this historic day, I free you from your humanly bonds, and allow you to assume your own form—" a small blue light radiated off the golden sword. Kronos dropped his jaw, exposing a _brilliant _light blue light; his eyes took on the exact same color, leaving not a trace of his own eyes. Suddenly, the light shown all around him, blinding everyone. Troy brought his free hand up to shield his eyes, and when the light faded, his grandfather had grown but a few feet taller. His hair had became as dark as the night sky, matching the long, shaggy beard that reached to his upper chest. He was as skinny as a homeless man, and had the eyes of an insane man, wildly looking around, moving freely as they did so.

The crowd didn't cheer, Troy figured that they were too scared to cheer, but the Titan Lord didn't seem to notice.

There was one more thing Troy didn't realize until a few seconds later.

On the ground, huddled in a ball, was his old form, a young half-blood, lay unconscious.

"—Long live Kronos!" Troy yelled. The sound of swords being unsheathed filled the air.

"_Long live Kronos!" _ They shouted in unison.

Kronos stumbled to where the Olympian party kneeled, unable to move.

"As for you, worthless scoundrels, I send you back to the place you belong, your precious camp!" Kronos snapped. He waved his hands, and the Olympian party was gone.

--1--

"Must I do everything my self?!" The lord of time screamed. "I've already announced we will _not _be living on Olympus, so why am I getting floor plans of the new designs of Olympus?"

Some of the titan supporters had been sent to cause destruction in random places. Some of the…lucky… ones had to stay with Kronos. Among these was Troy.

However, a few main people were with Kronos at this time. Troy – of course, the boy who had acted as the Titan lord's body during the take over, Luke, and Kronos' wife, Rhea. They all four sat around a wooden table in the Titan's Enclave. The only light was provided by lit torches that were attached to the wall. The table was small, and wooden, not sanded very well at all, and gave you splinters if you slid your hand over the surface.

"So what exactly _do _you want?" Rhea asked, irritated. "A castle made of ice?! A thrown made out of clouds?! What about a stable _full _of horses?! Would that satisfy you, _your majesty?"_

"Mind your words, Rhea, you are my wife, but that does not make you immune to the punishments of mortals."

Rhea rolled her eyes. She was a beautiful woman, yes indeed. She looked much like her daughters, Hera, Demeter and Hestia, yet, she looked much different. Her eyes were a light brown, in fact, they were almost gold. Her lips were an unnatural copper color, almost blending in with her perfectly tan skin. She had a couple wrinkles around her lips and eyes, but that only made her more beautiful in Troy's eyes.

"I want," Kronos proceeded. "A medieval castle in Greece, that way the mortals can visit me and beg for mercy." Kronos grinned a wicked, evil grin. His teeth were a hideous yellow. Troy expected to see bugs crawling around in his mouth.

"Anything with the word 'evil' in it, eh, Kronos?" Rhea mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?" Kronos snapped.

"What? Nothing, I'll alert the architects at once." She said, although she made no movement to get up.

"I have a question," Troy announced. Kronos took a breath.

"Ah, yes, Troy, my dearest grandson. I'd like to thank you for making all of this possible." Kronos said, through a false friendly grin. "And Luke my dear boy, you deserve credit for all this as well."

Luke looked distant, staring into space. The light flickered against his face. He said nothing, but kept staring, not even acknowledging that Kronos had spoken to him. He looked rather disturbed.

There was an awkward silence.

"Ah, yes well, what was your question, Troy?" Kronos kept going. He was being nice… too nice.

"I...I was wondering—" Troy stammered. He often got troubled whenever he spoke to his grandfather. His grandfather awoke a fear in Troy that was greater than anything else. He always did whatever his grandfather said, no matter what the cost.

"You were wondering what?" Kronos prompted, but troy could tell he was getting impatient.

"Why you let the half-bloods go. I thought you wanted them all dead."

The lord of time grinned another evil grin, exposing his hideous teeth. He paused a moment to answer. "I do, I do indeed, more than anything. Troy, have you ever heard some say 'save the best for last?'"

Troy nodded. He had heard the expression in his short, miserable life. On the outside, Tory was sixteen, but inside, he was still the five year old boy that Kronos had recruited, and who had been in love with the beautiful Anniebeth.

"Well, the half-bloods deaths will be the icing on the cake. You see, Troy, they will soon run out of supplies, food, water, whatever it may be, and they will leave the camp, not all at once of course, maybe one or two at a time. But do you know what will happen when they leave the camp?"

"No," Troy answered quickly. He had seen the punishments bestowed on those who chose to ignore the Titan Lord, he did not want to go there.

"They will be ambushed by a select few warriors I have spying on the camp, and they will die. One by one." Kronos laughed a bit. "That way, my pleasure will last."

"But what will happen if the half-bloods kill the warriors?" Troy asked, wanting to keep the conversation going for reasons unknown to even him.

"I will simply send more," Kronos replied, leaning back in his chair.

"How will you know if they die or not?" Troy asked. He knew by this time his questions would by grinding on his grandfather's nerves.

"Kronos will be receiving around-the-clock reports on the camps' progress." Rhea chimed in, looking at her husband nervously. He nodded.

Troy hesitated. He knew he would possibly get into a large amount of trouble by asking his next question, but he thought if may be worth it.

"Sir, if I may," he began. "I'd like to know my position."

"Position?" Kronos asked.

"Yes, sir. When I joined the titan's you promised me a position of power, and I…" His voice trailed off.

"Ah, I did, didn't I?" Kronos began. "But, I've changed my mind."

Troy was confused.

"You have?"

"Indeed." He said. Even though he was Greek, he had the vocabulary of a British man. "You see, Troy, now that I have taken charge over those inferior gods, I am no longer in need of the service of yourself and Luke."

Troy was shocked.

"Oh, really?" He asked, getting mad.

"Yes, so, I have decided to let you both rot in the dungeon. Guards!"

More shock overcame him. Suddenly, he wasn't so afraid of his grandfather. He stood up.

"What?! You can't do this to us! We trusted you!" Troy shouted.

Kronos stood up as two extremely tall men in Greek battle-armor appeared from the darkness. "That, my boy, was your first mistake."

Troy felt one of the men grab his arm, he yanked away. "You _will not_ get away with this!" Troy was also near tears. Luke sat in his chair, he hadn't moved the slightest bit since he entered the room. One of the men grabbed his arm, Luke willingly stood, but the dazed, disturbed look on his face.

"I believe I already have." Kronos said, and laughed. Rhea sat at the table, speechless. The guard tugged at Troy again, grabbing both his arms, he tried to pull away once more, but he couldn't break free. The guard was at least six feet taller then he, and without a doubt had more muscle.

Troy tried to yell more, but his voice wouldn't work. He held back tears. The very thought of spending the rest of his life in a cell struck more fear than the fear of Kronos. He looked to Luke, who was still distant, and back at Kronos, who was grinning once more.

Without another word, the guards dragged him and Luke into the darkness.

--1--

Once the darkness ended, they were led down a dimly-lit, long and narrow hallway. Once again, the room was lit by torches, which gave the hall a reddish glow. There were many doorways in the hall that led to gods-only-know-where.

At the very end of the hall was a doorway that faded into complete darkness. Troy knew that's where his life would end. But as they slowly made their way towards the doorway, he reflected on his life.

It had been short. He was only five years-old.

He remembered the shocked, hurt look on Thalia's face when he and a band of harpies had attacked her and two other hunters near a highway.

He remembered how many tears were shed when he found out his mother was leaving him with Thalia.

He remembered the tingle of Kronos's aging magic as it had coursed through his veins, causing him to age prematurely over a course of days.

But mostly, he remembered Annabeth—or _Anniebeth _as he would have called her then, as he was unable or unwilling to pronounce her name as _Annabeth. _

But the Annabeth he had known was just a clone of the real thing. Kronos had used her to get in good with Thalia and Troy. But the clone had died as the hotel they had stayed at collapsed; leaving Thalia heartbroken that Annabeth was dead. Thalia hadn't lived long enough to realize that she really was still alive. Troy wondered if the half-bloods at the camp Thalia told Troy about realized she wasn't dead.

Suddenly, the guard firmly grasping Troy's shoulder let go, and cried a small cry of pain. Before he knew what was happening, a small pile of dust appeared on his shoes. He looked at Luke, stunned, who in return, gazed blankly back at him as he'd been doing since he and Kronos were separated. The guard holding Luke looked around frantically, trying not to show fear. He held his right hand out and a large double-bladed war-axe appeared from thin air.

Then, a blond girl with storm grey eyes and a tattered orange T-shirt that advertised Camp Half-Blood, and grimy khaki shorts stepped from the darkness and into the dim light, as calmly as the guards had walked Luke and Troy a few seconds earlier. She carried a small knife in her hand, the half of it covered with the same dust that was now in Troy's shoes.

_Anniebeth? _Troy thought, not believing what he was seeing. He knew that Annabeth had been kept prisoner here, but Kronos would never show him to her cell. She was extra skinny and as pale as death, but he still thought she was as beautiful as ever.

Even though this was the first time he was seeing the _real _Annabeth, he knew he was in love.

The much-larger guard laughed, and he charged into combat.

He lifted his axe high above his head and brought it down with extreme force. Annabeth jumped out of the way swiftly, missing the axe by about a second. As a result, she plunged against the wall, and Troy heard a small crack as her body and the wall collided. She pushed off the wall immediately. The guard's axe had stuck in the floor, splitting the wood into to sections. He struggled to remove it as Annabeth swiped the blade of her knife against the flat of his back. He hissed, and yanked with all his force, the axe came from the floor and into the air. The guard kicked with his enormous foot, planting it in Annabeth's stomach. She lost her balance and fell to the floor. The guard grinned wickedly. Troy's hand moved slowly to the key-chain that changed to a sword in his pocket. Slowly and steadily, as Annabeth coughed, the guard brought his axe upwards. Troy grabbed hold of the key-chain, when the guard suddenly got smaller—a lot smaller. He grew shaggy white fur, and his eyes turned bright red. The axe he once held fell to the ground with a clatter.

When the shock wore off, Troy was able to see what had happened. The guard had been transformed into an albino ferret. Troy looked from the ferret, to Annabeth—who had reached the end of her coughing fit. A figure moved in the corner of Troy's eye.

A red headed woman of age twenty at the most stepped from the shadow. She wore a long, white gown that reached her feet. She had a pale complexion, which was completed with a series of light brown freckles painted across her face. The woman locked her gaze on the albino ferret and headed towards it. She carefully picked it up with both hands and made her way over to Troy. She held the ferret out to him.

"Does this creature mean anything to you, young nephew?" She asked. She looked at him with warm, sympathetic, but somewhat sad eyes.

"Umm… not really," Troy said, face glowing red.

"Really? Look harder." The woman demanded. Troy looked, and as he did so, it all came back to him. When he and Thalia were traveling, he had led them to a pet store in Idaho, where he had stolen an albino ferret…just like the one the woman was holding.

"Oh, yeah," He said aloud, glancing nervously at Annabeth. "I named it Anniebeth."

"Huh?" Annabeth asked, rudeness in her voice. Luke had made his way to the wall and was now sitting on the floor. Annabeth slowly made her way towards Troy, knife in hand. She pushed him against the wall. "You kill my _best _friend, on top of all the gods of Olympus—" Troy could now feel the coldness of her blade against his throat, his shirt bunched up in one of her fists. "You destroy the world, and you _dare _look me in the eye and tell me that you named a ferret after me?!" She kept a glare, but her voice was breaking, meaning she would soon cry.

"Annabeth—" Troy tried, but she cut in. Bringing her blade closer and tightening her grip.

"Your sister…your own sister…your father. How could you just…" Her voice trailed off, her eyes began to water. She tossed Troy to the ground, causing his tailbone to ache for a few seconds. She turned and wiped the tears from her eyes. Troy was infuriated.

"They didn't care! Neither of them! Ever!" He cried. She turned to him, evil look on her sweet face.

"You're not even worthy to speak of them! If you _ever _disrespect either of their names again I'll—"

"Annabeth!" The woman warned. Annabeth's voice broke again.

"I'm sorry," she said to her. Troy noticed that Annabeth hadn't even acknowledged Luke's presence.

"How do you know all this anyway?" Troy asked, but Annabeth ignored him.

"Lady Hestia, why did you make me do this?" Annabeth asked the woman holding the ferret. I stood.

"Hestia?" I asked. "You can't be…you'd have to be dead…"

"To take out all the gods and goddess would take a thousand more armies than what Kronos has." Hestia began. "My father is smarter than that. I think he hopes that the minor gods will join him, so there's no need to kill them, but the Olympians… it makes me so glad I gave my throne to Dionysus."

"I don't mean to be pushy, Lady Hestia, but could we hurry and get out of here? I'd like to talk with Chiron." Annabeth asked, looking at me when she finished the statement.

"Ah, yes, the centaur. I'm surprised Kronos didn't take him out as well, he hates him as much as he did the Olympians." Hestia told her. "Now, I am able to teleport you back to your camp—" Annabeth's face lit up—"but you have a choice to make. Would you like to take them with you?" She gestured towards me and Luke.

Annabeth looked from Troy, to Luke, and repeated the process three times; each time when she looked at Troy, the scowl on her face became more visible. She let at a long sigh and looked back at Hestia.

"Sure, I'll take them both with me." She said unenthusiastically.

"Really? Why?" Troy asked, confused. She took another sigh.

"Because, I've been in those cells for weeks. I'd feel bad to let any human—not matter how much I hate them—spend the rest of their lives there. I may be mad at you both, but I'm nothing like either of you."

Hestia smiled, and placed a hand on Annabeth's back. "Your mother would've been proud."

Annabeth smiled a bit, but glared at Troy a few seconds later.

It hadn't occurred to Troy that he had killed Annabeth's mother, she hadn't mentioned it. All she had mentioned was him killing Thalia.

_I'm nothing like either of you._

--2--

"Quickly, children!" Chiron yelled over the storm that had penetrated the camps' boundaries. "Into the Big House!"

Percy, Nico, Zana, and Saeva followed to centaur the best they could, though it was raining so hard, they couldn't see very clearly.

They had been teleported just outside camp borders. The usually-beautiful half-blood hill was a scene from a nightmare. No, worse, it was the wrath of Kronos.

Zana remembered camp from when she first found out her parentage. She had lived here a year or so before she made the decision to join the hunt. Leaving this place had been the hardest thing she ever had to do.

Until, of course, she had to see her father—Hermes's—dead body strewn across the street in New York, his top half lying over Zeus, and bottom lying on the cripple Hephaestus. A sword was plunged in his back, an arm ripped from his body. A trickle of blood came from his mouth.

Remembering these small facts caused her to burst into tears again. She didn't want the other to know she had been crying, of course. At least it was raining, that way no one could tell she had been crying. She had thought she heard Saeva crying to herself, and also Percy. It was for sure Saeva never cried, and from the stories Thalia had told her about Percy, he never did, either.

They approached the door. Zana recollected herself, so that she wouldn't cry in front of everyone. Chiron slung open the door and they all five filed in.

A satyr and a large girl sat at a table, they sat across from each other, and as Chiron and the children rushed in, they stood up in unison.

"Thank the gods!" the satyr praised, and made his way towards us. The husky girl followed. Zana recognized the satyr from when she lived at camp. His name was… Gus… Gary…Grover! That's right, she remembered him as Grover the satyr.

But Thalia had told a story about him. Something Zana hadn't known. Grover was the skilled searcher who had found—and almost lost—both Percy and Thalia.

"Where are the other campers?" Chiron demanded.

"In their cabins…just as you told them." The husky girl said. Chiron glanced at Zana and Saeva.

"Uh… Zana, Saeva, you should both know Grover—" The satyr smiled shyly. "But you were both gone when Clarisse arrived at camp." He gestured to the husky girl, who, given a closer look, had some rough-looking features."Zana, Saeva, this is Clarisse of the Ares cabin, and Clarisse; these two young ladies are Saeva and Zana of the Hunt.

"Nice to meet you," Saeva said, her voice still broken from crying, her blond hair matted against her head with rain-water.

"Yeah. Whatever," Clarisse answered. And that made it official, Zana had decided that she didn't like the Ares girl. "Chiron! You owe us an explanation. All you said before you left with kelp-for-brains and goth central over there was 'Emergency, tell the campers to stay in their cabins'"

"Yes, well, have a seat; everyone in this room is now a part of an emergency meeting." Chiron said, directing the students to a long table at the head of the room.

They all took a seat at the table, leaving many open chairs. Zana folded her hands across her chest and focused on not crying in front of everyone.

"Well…Grover, Clarisse, there's no easy way to give bad news… the gods have… we've lost this war." Chiron said.

"How? There was no war!" Clarisse argued. She hadn't quite realized what Chiron meant.

But Grover did.

"Chiron…are you saying..?" Grover touched at the subject, eying Percy and Nico.

Chiron nodded. Grover grew pale.

"What?" Clarisse demanded. She looked from Grover to Chiron. A wave of realization crossed her face. "Dead?" She asked. "All of them?"

Chiron nodded again, and looked to the floor.

"My father?"

Silence.

Saeva broke the silence. "We can't take this sitting down. We have to revolt."

"Exactly," Chiron said, nodding in her direction. "We need a plan."

"But what?" Zana asked.

The door to the Big House swung open. Three figures appeared in the doorway, shadow covering their bodies. Rain spilled on to the wooden floor.

The figures stepped in.

The first to come to Zana's eye was a boy, about sixteen, with jet-black hair and electric blue eyes.

"Troy…" Zana growled quietly. She reached for the bow and quiver that was slung over her shoulder. Chiron put a hand on her leg, telling her to keep calm.

"Luke?" Grover asked with confusion. A boy, at least nineteen stood behind the girl. He had bags under his eyes and he was terribly skinny. He had stubble growing on his chin and upper neck. He looked sickly, as his eyes were clouded and cheeks bright red.

"Annabeth!" Percy cried with excitement. A girl, of blond hair like Saeva's stood in front of the boys. Her skin was pale from lack of sunlight, and was as thin as a rail. "But you're supposed to be dead."

"Are you disappointed?" She asked sarcastically, not even attempting a laugh. "Chiron, I'm sorry I brought these two…skum into camp. But as for the plan, I think I can help."

**A/N Okay, so that's the first chapter. I don't want to hear any "This doesn't make sense." If you didn't read Thalia the Hunter. **

**But, if you'd like to read this one, and you haven't read Thalia, then just PM me and I'll send you a short summary of what happened in Thalia. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N sorry it's been so long, for those of you who have never read one of my stories, please know that it doesn't usually take me so long to update, but I've been busy with a bigger writing project. **

Annabeth could feel the tension in the room as the two groups stared at each other. Her cheeks flashed red, for she knew if a fight started on camp and someone got hurt, it would be her fault.

"Grover," Chiron said calmly. "Would you please escort Luke and Troy to the Zeus cabin?"

The satyr looked at him, and glanced out into the storm. "But… it's raining." He protested weakly.

"Now, please, Grover."

With a sigh larger than life, Grover reluctantly stood from his chair. He neatly pushed his chair under the table, and smiled at Annabeth as he walked past her. He motioned for Troy and Luke to follow.

Troy looked at Annabeth for a few moments. Enough to make her blush again. "What?" She snapped. "Follow Grover."

He turned around towards the door as Grover held it open for him. The sounds of hard rain filled the Big House. Realizing Luke was still sitting down, Troy lightly pulled at his shoulder, Luke looked up, that distant glare in his eye, and for a second, he too looked at Annabeth. But it was nothing like the way it used to be. It used to be, that he'd look at her—or anyone else—and his eyes would sparkle, and he'd smile. But today, he just looked at her. Plain and simple look with a depressed look painted across his face. Luke stood up, and disappeared into the rain seconds later. Troy followed, and then Grover. The door shut, and almost instantly, but calmly, Chiron spoke again.

"You said you had a plan, Annabeth?" He asked. It took her a moment, but she nodded.

"Yes, sir. I do."

"Alright." He said. "Have a seat." He looked from her to address everyone. "First and foremost, all of you hear this. Do _not _under any circumstances let any other campers know just how much trouble we're in. I don't want a riot. That means: don't mention the fall of the gods."

"What?" Clarisse demanded. "You can't do that! The gods were their parents' they deserve to know!"

"I agree," announced Zana.

"Me too," said Nico, sitting back in his chair.

"I don't," said Saeva.

"Great!" Annabeth replied. "Who are you?"

"Oh, I beg your pardon," Chiron said. "These two young ladies are Saeva and Zana of the hunt. Zana is a daughter of Hermes, Saeva a daughter of Athena."

Annabeth smiled at them, not much comprehending the fact that Saeva was her half-sister at the moment.

"While I was in the dungeon of the Titan Stronghold, I had a lot of time to think," Annabeth began. "When I was awake, I thought of what the camp would do if the Titan's took over."

"And…" Percy prompted.

"Well, first, no one should be allowed outside camp. Kronos wouldn't send us back to camp without scouts watching us." Annabeth explained.

"How will we get out unnoticed then?" Nico asked. "We'll run out of food and water eventually."

"We dig a tunnel." Annabeth stated simply.

"A _tunnel?_" Clarisse asked in clear disapproval.

"Yeah!" Percy said. "Like the Labyrinth, it could start inside camp, and let us move in and out of camp freely."

"And undetected," Nico added.

"Exactly," Annabeth beamed.

"One problem though," Chiron told them. "If the Titan's find the exit, they'll go through the tunnel and lead an attack on the camp."

"We could make it hidden," Zana suggested.

"Yeah," Saeva chimed in, pushing a tuft of blond hair from her eyes. "The exit could be in the nearest abandoned building."

Annabeth looked at Chiron, her eyes begging him. He shrugged. "It's worth a shot. Annabeth, will you design this tunnel and oversee the structure?"

"Of course," Annabeth said proudly. "I'll need a few workers, though."

"Any volunteers?" Chiron asked. No one raised a hand. "None? Alright, I assign Nico and Grover to the job."

Clarisse snorted. "Nico and Grover?"

Everyone turned to look at Nico. He said nothing.

"We'd also need to speed training up," Annabeth continued. "I suggest you assign a student-teacher, one for sword and other various weapons, and one for archery. But only for the beginning classes."

"Me!" Clarisse shouted, nearly falling from her chair. "Pick me!"

"How about Clarisse?" Zana said nonchalantly.

"Alright, Clarisse will teach my beginning classes, and I'll still teach the advanced classes. We could have more than one class going at a time." Chiron said, and added. "An archery teacher?"

"I'll do it." Zana offered.

"Very well," Chiron said with a smile.

"We'll need some people to go on a quest, too," Annabeth announced.

"Quest?" Percy asked, suddenly interested.

"Yes," Annabeth explained. "I'm thinking under the circumstances, Hades would allow us to retrieve a few of the gods from the Underworld."

"Maybe, but not Poseidon or Zeus," Chiron commented. "He'd never let go of one of his brothers." His face lit up. "We could call on some of my previous students!"

"I'll go," Percy said out of the blue. He looked at Annabeth. "Who's coming with me?"

"I can't this time," she said. "I have to oversee the making of the tunnel."

"Who's left that's not been assigned to something?" Chiron asked, looking around, he made eye contact with Saeva. "Saeva! Will you accompany Percy?"

Saeva stood up and pushed her chair in. "I can't," she said simply, and walked out the door and into the rain.

"She'll come around," said Zana, though her face deceived her words.

"I hope so," remarked Chiron, looking out the window, watching as Saeva made her way into Artemis's cabin. "They must leave before the tunnel is complete though. We're pressed for time; every second counts, and I'm not sure how long it will take to construct such a long tunnel."

"I'll talk to her, she'll go," Zana said, looking out the same window, and mumbled her next words. "I promise."

--1--

Saeva walked out into the cold rain. She pulled the hood of her sweatshirt over her head. She wanted to go; she wanted to help, but she just couldn't.

But she also couldn't explain why, and that was the hardest part.

Her secret was well protected. She didn't want anyone else to know, although she regretted not telling Thalia before she died.

Mainly, she didn't want anyone to know because she didn't want a single person to question her loyalty to the gods. This was her cause, the side she'd fought with for sixteen years in a fourteen year-old girl's body. She wasn't going to let one stupid encounter ruin it all.

She was determined.

--2--

The door to the Zeus cabin opened. Annabeth and the sound of rain entered the room, Troy looked up, but Luke did not. He sat on bottom bunk across the cabin, not saying a word or acknowledging anyone else's presence.

Annabeth glanced at Luke for a moment, and then looked to Troy.

"Chiron would like to see you in the Big House," she said as a secretary to an office would.

Troy stood up, not saying a word, and walked through the door that Annabeth held open for him.

A particularly cold rain instantly splattered against his face, he brought his hand up to shield his face. He looked at the Big House, wondering what on earth Chiron wanted to talk to him about. After all, he had only destroyed New York City, decapitated his sister, and killed the gods using his grandfather's army.

But really, what was there to talk about?

He couldn't quite out his finger on it…

But he was sure he'd find out as he walked up to the door of the Big House.

When he entered, the rain that had once been a loud noise around him shrank to a muffle as it pounded on the roof of the Big House. He shut the door, aware that there was not a dry spot on him. He was glad he'd left his sword back at the cabin.

Chiron sat in a wheelchair, looking out at the storm that hadn't lightened up since they had arrived. His head turned when the door shut, and he looked the boy over for a second, and then he spoke, words soft and gentle.

"Ah, Troy, please have a seat." He said, and looked back out the window. Troy looked around; there were at least one-hundred and fifty seats to choose from.

"Where?" He asked, almost impatiently.

"Anywhere you're comfortable will do," Chiron said, giving the window a last glance and wheeling away from it. Troy sat in the nearest seat.

"What shall I do with you, Troy?" He asked, and looked at him. Troy said nothing, thinking it was a rhetorical question, but there was something about the way the ancient centaur looked at him, almost like he _wanted _to be answered.

"You're giving me a choice?" Troy asked.

Chiron looked baffled. "It would appear so," he said, a tinge of confusion in his voice. "Is that odd?"

Troy smiled a bit. "No, I'm just not exactly used to having an option."

"Ah, yes," Chiron said understandingly. "The Titan Lord can be quite…pushy."

"Yeah he can," Troy agreed. He glanced into the distance.

"So should I send you to the scouts that Annabeth is sure are waiting outside camp borders?" Chiron asked.

"What?" Troy asked, almost dreamily, but added his next words forcefully when the centaurs question soaked in. "No!"

Chiron reared back in surprise. "Alright then,"

"Sorry," Troy began apologetically. "It's just, I can't go back, and neither can Luke. We were being escorted to the dungeon when Annabeth rescued us. Kronos betrayed us, we gave him our loyalty, and in return he sends us to the dungeon. I guess Luke and I owe Annabeth our lives."

"That you do," Chiron said sympathetically. "Kronos is the Lord of Time, but he can also be the Lord of Deceit. Thalia could have told you that if you would have listened to her for even a minute."

Troy looked down shamefully. Chiron was being so nice to him, and he had basically done the same thing to Chiron as Kronos had done Troy. But Chiron seemed to be looking past that, and seeing the better person in Troy.

"I'd like to stay," Troy announced.

Chiron stood up, almost as if he had prepared for this moment. "You would?"

"Yes, sir," Troy said, and added. "But if—"

Chiron cut him off. "You do realize that if you do stay here, you will be obligating yourself to fight against Kronos, don't you?"

"Yes," Troy said. "And I'm more than ready to do that."

"And you realize that the campers will one day find out that you lead the attack against their parents, and any friends you may have will no longer think of you the same way."

"I do," Troy said.

"You also know that you will have to earn the trust of myself and the officers that were at the meeting earlier?"

"Yep," Troy said, noting it was almost as if Chiron were trying to talk him out of joining.

"Very well, then," Chiron said. "But for the first few days, I want you and Luke in total isolation. Guards will be guarding your cabin 24-7. All your meals will be brought to you. If you exhibit good behavior, you will be aloud to move freely around the camp."

Troy heard all of his words, but didn't care he was to spend the next week or so in a boring cabin with nothing to do. "You're really going to let me stay?" He asked, standing up.

"Of course," He said. "Everyone makes mistakes; I'm not going to hold it against you, especially since you were five when you made the mistake. Luke's mistake, however, will be a little harder for me to forgive." He winked. "You're dismissed."

Troy stood up, and turned around. When he reached the door he lightly touched to knob, and turned around.

"Chiron?" Troy asked.

"Yes, child?" The centaur asked, looking out the window once more.

"Thank you."

--3--

"Saeva?" Zana asked, entering the silver cabin cautiously. "Don't pretend you're not in here. I saw you come in.

Zana was soaking wet, she dripped water on the flawless white carpet of the beautiful cabin. There were six bunk-beds—just enough to fit twelve girls—in one corner of the unbelievably large room, and the other corner was a crème color desk, with a bust of the goddess of the Hunt. Saeva laid on one of the bunk beds. She sniffled, and wiped tears from her face.

"Get up," Zana ordered.

"What?" Saeva asked, her voice broken.

"You have to go on that quest," Zana told her. "It's life or death. Literally!"

"I know," Saeva said, waving the tissue that was clasped in her fingers; she used it to wipe her face. "But I can't. In a few months I'll be unable—" Zana cut her off.

"_In a few months I'll be unable…_" Zana mocked her.

"That's not helping," Saeva said, looking at her, grey eyes clouded.

Zana sat on the bed with her. "You can't let this thing run your life."

"I have no choice _but _to let it run my life," Saeva said. "No one can know, and there are just some things I won't be able to do, like fight, for instance."

"First of all, it will be obvious to everyone sooner or later. I think they'd respect you more if you told them yourself." Zana said, looking at her seriously.

"Yeah, I know," Saeva agreed, sniffling again. "But right now, you're the only one that knows, and I'm grateful for that. I need time… I need to figure out how to tell people. It's not something you can just say."

"True," Zana agreed. "I'll tell you what; I'm going to help you."

"You're not mad at me anymore?" Saeva asked, a tiny bit of hope in her tear-filled voice.

"Yes," Zana said. "I'm still incredibly mad at you, but I'm going to help; because you're my family."

"Thanks," Saeva said with a forced smile. "But I still can't go on the quest with Percy. I still can't stand to be alone with a boy. Plus, there's the secret."

Zana didn't have to ask, she knew Saeva was uncomfortable saying her secret aloud, and she respected that.

After all, she meant what she said, Zana was family.

**A/N Boring chapter, eh? Ready for some action? Well, get ready, because the next chapter will have a fight or two in it. Plus, the information giving chapters are pretty much over, and the real story begins soon. **

**What is Saeva's secret? I'll never tell. **

**Is Troy sincere about wanting to join the Olympian's? You know how to find out.**

**What's the matter with Luke? Read more. **

**Will Annabeth be able to cope with living and fighting beside the boy who killed her best friend and his mother? Stick around. It's all coming soon. **

**For those of you who didn't read Thalia, Troy's sword is solid gold, but it's made from Olympian gold, it was forged by Hephaestus himself for Zeus as a gift to Thalia, which troy looted off her body. **

**Anyway, I'm writing a story for school, so that may take me a while. I've already started, and that's what took me so long to get this chapter up. **

**REVIEW!!! **


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